Oh mercy. There are some recipes with a bit of oil that can be canned, like the three bean salad from the National Center for Home Food Preservation. By and large, you cannot can fats, like oil, butter, cream. Eggs are usually not allowed either.

What in the world is that recipe supposed to be, a salad dressing base?

Not to be alarmist, as I often weigh my "risks" and then take them if I decide the risk is small or worth it, but you can kill people with improperly canned foods. Especially because you are selling it to other people, who may be serving it to the elderly, immune compromised or children, you should be very careful.

I know the National Center for Food Preservation had/has an online class for home food preservation It was free the last time I checked. If I did not know safe canning practices and wanted to sell a home canned product, that's where I'd start, to at least get a basic knowledge of the safety practices.

What kind of canner? As a general rule you can jams, jellies, fruits, pickles (with a sufficient acidity in the brine), some relishes and salsas in a boiling water bath. Vegetables, meats, soups, beans, etc., should be canned with a pressure canner.

Definitely do your research at NCHFP, you don't want to take the chance of making your customers sick, because then they won't come back!

I forgot to add that the Ball Blue Book and that website have good, tested, safe recipes. You might also want to check out the Harvest Forum here.

Do NOT rely on recipes you find at various blogs and websites, I've seen some that are just scary. They aren't tested and break every food safety rule I've ever learned.

You might also check with your local Cooperative Extension Service, some still have canning classes available and some still give canning advice. Some even have equipment for rental/borrow.

Happy Canning and good luck with the business.

Annie

This post was edited by annie1992 on Fri, Feb 22, 13 at 14:07

Ditto to everything Annie said.

In addition, prior to selling to others I would perfect the method first. Improperly canned foods can kill someone.

Teresa

Yet one more "ditto" to everything Annie said. You also need to find out if there are any restrictions or a license required for retailing food made in your home. Check with your local Health Department for more information concerning these issues. You may also need to check with your insurance agent to see if you need to increase your insurance to cover this adventure.

I'd also suggest doing the math. Due to the high cost of start-up for canning, ingredients and utilities it costs for processing, it may not be a money maker. The link below has more information that might help you out.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Cost of Canning

Please make the effort to become educated as well as skilled in proper canning procedures before canning for yourself or others. I have been canning all my life and feel confident in canning many things for our own use. That said, for liability, I would never consider selling any of it.

I do not wish to insult you, but you have absolutely no business selling anything home canned to others with your obvious lack of knowledge. The others are correct when they say you can kill someone (or yourself) with improper technique, and some things, due to their being too dense to even properly pressure can, should not be home canned at all.

Oh, lordy!

No you cannot can everything, far from it. Annie1992 has given you fantastic advice. Do your homework before you start a business.

Improperly canned foods can easily kill you. Or your customers.

Most states have very strict rules on what canned foods may be sold--mostly jams/jellies. Some allow pickles. And most require that they be prepared in state approved kitchens.

There's a canning forum on this site with very experienced people. Oil, eggs, flour, butter is pretty much considered unsafe, except for a couple of tested recipes that allow olive oil.

Please inform yourself before going ahead with your plans.

I think we've established this is not cannable, but like Annie I'm wondering what it is.

I'd also point out that if the amounts on the right are supposed to be scaled amounts, they're all over the place. For example why does a quart of vinegar get scaled down to a half cup, but a quart of pesto down to a TBSP which is an eighth of that? (And not equal to 1/3 tsp by the way.)

Well, for that matter 1/8 of a cup of water is not 1 tsp either.

I've included a link below that outlines many of the canning mistakes people make. -Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Avoiding Common (Major and Minor) Canning Mistakes

The OP's started with this, "I am starting my own business and I think I have completely messed up."

That gives me some concern that she might have already canned this "recipe" and, possibly, sold product. That reads, to me, like something she's already done? I would feel better if it read, "I am starting my own business and wondering if my plan will work?"

/tricia

Excuse me but shouldn't you know what you are doing before you get into a business of doing "it"? Generally someone has an idea of a business that they are good at so they figure they may as well do it for a living since they are so good at it. Well that's the way I would approach a business anyway...

I would suggest the OP check out the Harvest Forum on GW. You'll find a wealth of information and feedback from experienced canners.

Well, she did ask to be pointed in the right direction, so that's something positive, I think. That's why I directed her to NCHFP, her local extension service, the Ball Blue Book and the Harvest Forum.

I did have to add the bit about not trusting internet canning recipes, those things are all over the place, canning recipes should come from someone or someplace you trust, not from someone whose been canning "it" for 60 years and hasn't killed anyone yet. I've seen recipes that water bath can green beans and corn and I just shudder. Even if I were confident canning beans in a water bath, the 8 hours or whatever that people say they use would cook the product to mush. Pressure canning has been required for those things since the 40s or 50s, but people still hang onto that mentality. "Grandma did it and so it's OK". Yeah, well, Grandma also had an outhouse and heated water on the stove for laundry and never put a kid in a car seat and believed it when the tobacco companies told her that cigarettes weren't bad for your health. Some things actually HAVE improved...

Here in Michigan we passed the Cottage Food Law, which allows the sale of baked goods, jams and jellies, specific items, prepared in a home kitchen. The list is pretty limited, though. No pickles, salsas, vegetable products, etc. There are also labeling requirements.

Annie

I think California recently passed a similar law.

/tricia

One thing no one's pointed out is that you cannot safely combine garlic (in the pesto) and oil for safe, longterm storage at home. Those 2 ingredients create a bottulism soup in many cases.

Please, as all have recommended--get educated on safe canning. I'd recommend taking some commercial food prep classes at your local college or vocational school. READ READ READ anything and everything you can find from legitimate sources about safe food preservation. Get the facts on the laws and regs in your area. Talk to your insurance agent about the extra insurance you will need to cover yourself IF you do this (there are so many variables--the food spoiling, a foreign body getting into the food and injuring someone, someone getting sick from something else and THINKING it was from your food, etc).

Looking at the "recipe", noting that the OP just registered yesterday and has not been back is making me wonder about this post and poster.

Peppi, I noticed the same thing, but since there was no obligatory link to a sales product or blog, I guess I don't know why someone would "spam" post with no apparent point.

Then again, I don't understand a lot of human behavior, I'm relatively clueless much of the time.

Annie

I have to say when I first read this post I thought it had to be a joke/hoax as well. Althought as Annie said, why would someone spam with no link or point?

Who knows...

I find it hard to believe someone would start a business doing something they know absolutely nothing about. Small business is tough enought to get off the ground when you are knowledgeable about your product/service!

Linda